The artbook Marvel's
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Art of the Movie is an Amazon bestseller now and that's because the movie rocks and the visuals are like nothing you've ever seen before. One of the concept artists that worked on the movie was kind enough to do an exclusive interview with me and shared some secerets about making the film like how Benicio Del Toro's casting changed the look of "The Collector" and how this movie uses color unlike any other Marvel film.

Jackson Sze is a professional concept artist who's worked on big budget Hollywood films like The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013).

Click on the images to enlarge

Maurice Mitchell:
So, what did you spend more time working on for Guardians of the Galaxy
than anything else?
Jackson Sze:
I spent a lot of time on the Collector. There was a round of design
work done before Benicio Del Toro was cast.

After the casting we did update the design to work better with the
actor. Giving him more to play with in terms of hair, makeup and a
cape.

MM: It's a truly amazing costume. What were the inspiration for the Collector's eclectic look?
JS: I always look towards what was done in the comics as a starting point
when designing these characters for film, and the Collector was no
different. The white hair, the dramatic cape, and the sense of power
were important to this established character.

When I found out that Benicio Del Toro was cast, and that he wanted to
play up the theatricality of the character, I redid the design from
scratch. The fur cape and rich fabrics hopefully helped Benicio Del
Toro turned the Collector into a memorable character.

MM: James Gunn said that he wanted the movie to have a bright colorful
look. Was there ever a sense of how different the color scheme would be
over other Marvel films?
JS: Because most of the movie is set in exotic space locations, we were
able to push our work into the more colorful realm than say The
Avengers, which was very much earth based. Neon lights, strange Cosmic clouds, and Sci Fi effects afforded us the
opportunity to really stage our characters in a colorful world.

MM: Was there any specific instruction that Gunn gave the design team?
JS: When James came on board to direct, he had a very clear vision of the
tone and color of the film. We were told to go bold with colors, and ground our design work with
realistic textures. Throughout the design process, we paid close attention to what James
responded to in terms of our art. It wasn't long before our team
understood where James wanted to go, and did our best to help him make
Guardians of the Galaxy as cool as possible.

Korath by Jackson Sze

Korath by Jackson Sze

MM: What was the design you're most proud of?
JS: This is going to be a slightly more abstract answer. I am proud to have
contributed to the world building of this property. In terms of keyframes, I tried to push the color, lighting, and
textures to create an eclectic and fun Sci Fi world people would want
to see. Hopefully, taken as a whole, the design work I contributed help
strengthen the tone and mood of the film.

MM: You've worked on four Marvel Movies so far. How did you approach
working on this film versus the others?
JS: Guardians of the Galaxy was tremendously fun to work on. We were
given
a chance to build a whole new Sci Fi galaxy. With the Avengers and
their individual films, the tone and look is already pretty much set.
There are some space and alien precedence set in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe in terms of Thor and the Chitauri. With that in mind, we
explored how fantastical the farther reaches of the galaxy can
be. So, in terms of designing GOTG, we did feel like we were navigating
through uncharted Marvel territory. Thankfully James Gunn our director
had a very clear vision on what he wanted the look and feel to be, and
that really helped guide our work.

MM: On another note, you shared a
really fun drawing you did for a Starbucks on your Facebook page. How
did you end up doing the Starbucks drawing?
JS: We have a Starbucks on the first floor of our building at work. The
Baristas knew some of us work at Marvel, and asked if we wanted to draw
something on their chalkboard. Previously, the Disney Animation team drew a really fun Elsa from
Frozen. I thought it would be great to showcase Groot and Rocket at
Starbucks. Anything to help elevate people's awareness of Guardians of
the Galaxy!

I have not drawn on a chalkboard since Grade school. There's this
liquid chalk medium I didn't know existed. So, that was fun and
challenging to use. Hopefully next year we can do something for Avengers: Age of Ultron as
well!

MM: Which brings me to my next question: what's next for you?
JS: I am working on Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Ant-Man (2015). Those are proving
to be as fun and challenging as any other Marvel Studios film I've been
lucky enough to work on! I can't wait to see how they all turn out!

What is Film Sketchr?

This blog is about the often unseen world of concept design and storyboarding in science-fiction films and television. These artists work to bring the vision of the writer and director to life. My hope is you'll learn a little bit more about them. If you're an artist I hope you find inspiration from the talented artists featured.

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The images featured are the property of the respective artists and companies. They are shown to feature and demonstrate the artistic talents of the artists. I'm not affiliated in any way. No implication of copyright is implied in their use.